A New Image Recognition App Lets You Shop Straight From Print Ads

As archaic as they may seem, store catalogs and print ads are still a go-to source of information for millions of shoppers every day.

Pounce, a new digital shopping app, is turning print ads digital by letting users buy products straight from their pages using their phone.

Here's how it works:

You home in on the merch you want and snap a photo using the app's framing tool. If you've loaded your credit card information already into the app, buying the product is just a matter of taping one or two keys.

The app uses the same checkout systems as the retailer's online store, making a seamless connection between print and online shopping.

There's just one catch: for now, the app only works with print catalogs from Staples, Ace Hardware, Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us and Target. Pounce says more retailers will join soon, but chances are that'll only happen if the app takes off with consumers first.

"Print media is a great shopping tool for consumers, but it comes with a time-delay between the initial intent and the actual transaction. Pounce removes that interruption, empowering consumers with the option to purchase a product right then and there, instead of going online or driving to a store," Avital Yachin, Founder & CEO of Pounce said in a statement.